26/12/2024 | Writer: Kaos GL
"As physicians, we are obliged to defend the values of good medical practice and the right of everyone to access health and live a healthy life while practicing our profession."
Psychiatric Association of Turkey issued a statement on the targeting of Ondokuz Mayıs University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and a faculty member for providing healthcare services to transgender people.
In its statement, the association said, “Such approaches, which include ignoring a condition that is in international diagnostic classifications regarding trans individuals and taking an attitude that prevents the right to health, is not only a hate crime but also a health crime.”
A part of the association's statement is as follows:
“Recently, some news websites have been targeting Ondokuz Mayıs University, University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and a faculty member colleague on the grounds of a compulsory health service defined in our health legislation, and unscientific, discriminatory and offensive expressions are used against the provision of health service and this right to health. We would like to remind once again that these approaches are unacceptable, will have very heavy costs for social peace and mental health, and that urgent measures should be taken against such hate speech that targets our colleagues and health institutions.
In particular, the content of the website includes hate speech against homosexual and transgender individuals in addition to the healthcare services provided to transgender individuals, and sexual orientations and identities are ignored and targeted with hostile expressions that are contrary to reason, science, human dignity and freedoms and in a way that disrupts social peace. There are defamatory and offensive statements against service providers for the health services provided to transgender individuals.”
Tags: human rights, health
